“It’s easy to see how women benefit from equality — more leadership positions, better pay at work and more support at home. Men may fear that as women do better, they will do worse. But the surprising truth is that equality is good for men, too.” Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant in part 4 of a series on Women at Work.
Earlier this year I wrote about the first 3 installments of the New York Times Women at Work series by Sandberg and Grant. The quote above begins the 4th and final installment, provocatively titled “How Men Can Succeed in the Boardroom and the Bedroom.” In it the authors provide evidence and examples of the benefits of bringing more women into the workplace at all levels of organization. Those benefits are felt not just on the job (more diversity of opinion and innovation and different ways of working together); working women holding meaningful jobs provide positive role models for and promote gender equality among members of the next generation. The “bedroom” part of the equation refers to studies that have shown that couples which share responsibilities at home are happier, less likely to divorce, have few conflicts and more sex.
The authors stress it’s important to fight for gender parity not only because it is fair, but because it is also economically beneficial to the larger society. They point out that it is generally accepted that 25% of the US GDP growth since 1970 can be attributed to the increase in women entering the paid work force. “Today, economists estimate that raising women’s participation in the work force to the same level as men could raise G.D.P. by another 5 percent in the United States — and by 9 percent in Japan and 34 percent in Egypt.”
WIFTV member, editor Mary Ungerleider
Sandberg and Grant end their series with this observation: “Many men who support equality hold back because they worry it’s not their battle to fight. It’s time for men and women alike to join forces in championing gender parity.”
To read this installment of Women at Work click here.
by Mary Ungerleider, member WIFTV Advocacy Committee
Women in Film and Television Vancouver Blog 